Danilo Facca, Valentina Lepri, 2013. Polish culture in the Renaissaince. Studies in the arts, humanism and political thought. Firenze University Press: Firenze. pp. 140.

Roberto Peressin

Conceived as an introduction to the complex and specific experience of the Polish Re- naissance, Polish culture in the Renaissaince: Studies in the arts, humanism and politi- cal thought gathers seven papers which were presented over the course of the Annual Meeting of the Renaissaince Society of America held in San Diego in 2013. The aim of the editors was to give not only scholars interested in Humanism, but also general read- ers, a survey of different aspects of the Renaissance phenomenon in , touching on a variety of subjects from the original reception of Western cultural models in art, litera- ture and philosophy, reaching towards the debate on the modern idea of Europe and its Eastern borders. The compilers by no means secondary aim was also to support the inter- pretation of local variations of the Renaissance, attempting to deliver its diverse cultural aspects from the nowadays widespread italo-centric vision. The coexistence of multiple artistic styles in the diversified Polish territory is clearly described in the opening article by Robin Craren, which is devoted to the development of Cracow, the capital and main commercial and cultural hub of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Gothic influences, hailing from bordering Germany, blend with the new Classicistic shapes of Italian making, that proliferated in and developed from the 16th century under the reign of Sigismund I Jagiellon. Yet Renaissance influences never en- tirely replaced previous Gothic models: this is evident in the cathedral and castle on the Wawel Hill, the seat of the political and religious powers of the city. 210 Roberto Peressin

In the second paper Maria Kozłowska illustrates, by means of a comparative analy- sis of the work Lingua by Erasm of Rotterdam and its Polish , the divulgative strategy of an editor and the quick ascent of the invention of the printing press in Poland from the mid-16th century. In the translation of the Erasmian treatise one can trace the intent of popularisation of a work intended for general local readers, simplified in style and enhanced with explanatory notes. Charles Keenan’s exposition concerning religious tolerance deals with a pivotal point in the political and social configuration of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Confederation of , stipulated in 1573, was to guarantee religious peace in the kingdom – where different confessions were represented – with the purpose of avoiding violence excesses; nevertheless it also led to opposition from the Catholic Church, which saw in it a serious threat to its commitment to arresting the spread of Protestantism. The Confederation was indeed opposed for a long time, but Polish kings generally accepted its articles, to assure themselves the consent of member electors (among whom many were of Protestant confession) for their election to the throne. Related to the old question of the Eastern borders of Europe, Katharina Piechocki’s article examines the work Tractatus de Duabus Sarmatiis (1517) by geographer Maciej Miechowita, which outlines the historical implications of the term “Sarmatia”, starting from Ptolomy’s Geography up until Humanists’ interpretations. Miechowita brightly grasps through his terminological study a progressive shift towards the East of a por- tion of territory that was called Sarmatia in the ancient times. This focus is a result of the conquests by the Polish Armies and thus can be described as a translatio imperii, which can be symmetrically compared to the contemporary military expansion to the West pro- moted by Portugal. The special geographical and political position of Poland can easily explain the suc- cess of Niccolò Machiavelli’s works within its borders: Valentina Lepri takes into con- sideration 16th century diplomat Krzysztof Warszewicki and his De legato legationeque (1595), a book that was addressed to ambassadors. The author, in describing the quali- ties of a good ambassador, reassesses and adjusts machiavellian values according to the current political situation, providing additional reflections by Italian Humanists, like Poggio Bracciolini and Coluccio Salutati. For instance, Warszewicki confers a slightly different role to religion, which he considers not only as an instrument of power, but also as a source of unity and motivation for one nation against a common enemy (the Turks). In a similar way other works from the same period can be considered adaptations, like Dworzanin polski (The Polish Courtier) (1566) by Łukasz Górnicki – free translation Danilo Facca, Valentina Lepri, 2013. Polish culture in the Renaissaince. Studies in the arts, humanism and ... 211 of Castiglione’s Cortegiano – and De optimo senatore (1568) by Wawrzyniec Goślicki, as we read in Marta Wojtkowska-Maksymik’s paper. Both treatises show the purpose of training perfect courtiers and senators just as their original Italian models, nonethe- less their authors do not ignore the different political system in which they operate and, moreover, they reveal a deep influence of Platonic and Neoplatonic ideas, which are fil- tered by Marsilio Ficino’s thought. The volume is closed by Danilo Facca, who presents two intriguing, as well as op- positional, exponents of the Humanistic Aristotelian reflection. In the Polish res publica, where to some extent the political principle of the so called “mixed government” was re- alised, the interest in ’s practical wisdom ( and Politics) was understand- ably remarkable. Among the different interpretations it could assume, it is interesting to examine the positions of Bartholomaeus Keckermann, native of Gdańsk and belonging to the mercantile middle class of the Protestant tradition; and Sebastian Petrycy, court gen- tleman of Catholic faith. The former asserts – along with Aristotle – in his work Systema disciplinae politicae (1606) that polis should encourage “dianoetic virtues”, i.e. science and not religious cult, to promote citizens’ intellectual advancement and to prevent tyr- anny. On the other hand, Petrycy’s show a more pedagogic and moralising approach to Aristotelian practical philosophy: he makes an appeal for the preservation of the mixed government and the virtue of prudentia, to restraint the passions and the anarchic urges of the soul (of which he often accused the szlachta, viz, minor nobility). As one can plainly see from this overview, the book does not offer a general or a sys- tematic guide to the Polish Renaissance, papers indeed go into detail regarding very spe- cific topics, which are not often related to each other. Even so, the survey in its hetero- geneity may arouse interest among wide ranges of specialists in the field of Renaissance studies and certainly be an authoritative source for the debate on the reception of classi- cal models in Europe’s borderlands.